In between tasks today I took my normal 5 minutes of “brain fog clearing”.
Brain fog clearing is my ad hoc-process by which I check the news, scan the blogs I like to read, or call my wife, for a few minutes while the fog inside my head clears allowing me to refocus on the task at hand. The problem with brain fog clearing is that if one is not careful, you can indeed let the A.D.D. train wisk you away into a random task that doesn’t need to be done that second.
Now some might prefer cube hopping. You know the types, floating from cubes to group of cubes discussing the random topics. Personally I don’t mind the cube hoppers, the only thing I do mind about the cube hoppers are the ’selective hops’. These are the cube hoppers who stroll into a group of cubes aimlessly, desperate for conversation. They stand in the vision of the person working away tapping the top of the cube or maybe they give a slight gutteral cough and nice slurp on there coffee.
Cube Hopper: “So….what’s doing….”
Me: “…(look up from monitor).. not much “
Cube Hopper: “…..(coffee slurp)…..(lip smack)….”
Me: (still staring at Cube Hopper)
Cube Hopper: “……..(coffee slurp…longer this time)…..yeah.. (throat clear)”
Me: (still staring)
Cube Hopper: “so…..seen Danny here today?”
Me: (glancing over at Danny’s desk……note to self – computer, and computer bag gone, chair tucked in, ‘while you were out’ messages pinned on Danny’s board)
Me: ” uh…nope haven’t seen him”
Cube Hopper: “…alright…”
Almost on queue from the corner of your eye you see that one slow hand motion. Like when you were a kid playing rock, paper, scissors. You remember that game right? Remember how it always seemed as if the other kid’s hand came down in a slow, hammer like motion. Here it was…the Cube Hopper, right hand stretched out, leaning across the top of the corner walls of my cube. His left hand holding a mug of half drinken, dark, black, stained mug of coffee, the right hand resting comfortably in the “paper” position. It’s at that moment following the “..alright” when the “paper” motion seems to slowly transform into a “rock” hand in the good old tradition of “1….2….3…paper, rock, scissors”.
You stare up at the Cube Hopper, and he back at you, you raise to grab a piece of your plastic cube wall in the hopes of supporting it against the on coming blow.
Then Cube Hopper’s eyes become small, focused..and takes his left hand and pounds the corner of the cube in a rythmic 1 – 2 bounce, followed by “hand gun and wink motion”. Cube Hopper manages to shake every part of my desk, pinned notes, papers, diagrams, and pictures before doing the slow truffle shuffle for the door.
Three seconds later and its just me, the notebook, and zpro server under my desk competing for who can make the louder buzz.
